Jake Paul has officially announced that he will return to the boxing ring on December 24 to fight MMA star Cedric Doumbe in Dubai. The event is scheduled to take place at the Coca-Cola Arena and represents Paul's first professional appearance since his loss to former British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua last December.
The American influencer suffered a broken jaw during his contest with Joshua, an injury that required the fitting of two titanium plates and the removal of several teeth. Although Paul stated in May that his boxing career was "most definitely" in doubt following the trauma, he is now set to resume action on Christmas Eve.
The upcoming match will be a professionally sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight bout with both fighters using 10oz gloves. Doumbe, a 34-year-old Cameroonian-born Frenchman, is a multi-time kickboxing world champion who has transitioned into MMA. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), an organization that merged with Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) in July.
While Doumbe has won two of his three fights since joining the PFL in 2023, he possesses only one professional boxing bout on his record, a victory achieved in 2015. In contrast, Paul holds a professional record of 12 wins and two defeats, with his losses coming against Tommy Fury and Joshua.
Paul previously secured a spot in the WBA's cruiserweight rankings in July 2025 after defeating former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., though he lost that ranking following his January defeat by Joshua. During that fight against the British two-time heavyweight world champion, Paul was knocked down twice before being stopped in the sixth round.
Sources: BBC Sport.